Mary Anne's Bad Luck Week
by Elizabeth8289
Summary: Poor Mary Anne had a bad week. Almost everything went wrong, but she hopes things would get better.
1. Day One

The Baby-Sitters Club never belongs to me; it belongs to our beloved Ann M. Martin

I was coming home from baby-sitting Jamie and Lucy Newton when one of my contacts fell out. I picked it up and unfortunately, it was ripped. I hurried home and made my way into the bathroom.

I got the contacts from my purse, took them out, and put them in while the other one fell out. I caught it before it fell on the floor (luckily) and replaced it. It was also my last one. It's a pain, it happens a lot.

"Hi, honey," A voice was heard from behind me.

When I turned around, it was Dad.

"You surprised me! I didn't know you were home," I gasped.

That was when the same contact fell out again and I sighed. It was cleaned and I put it back in.

"My contacts fell out three times, it's driving me crazy. I had no more left and the one I had ripped. The other one that fell out twice were my last one," I told him.

"We'll get you some more contacts," Dad smiled.

On the way, my purse strap was coming off. What else is new?

I'm Mary Anne Spier I'm 13 years old and I live in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. My dad and I lived alone for a very long time. My birth mother died of cancer when I was just a baby. Dad ended up seeing my stepmom, Sharon Schafer (who was his first girlfriend _way_ back in high school) again when she came back here after she divorced. She moved here with her kids, Dawn (who happens to be one of my best friends) and Jeff (who moved back to California, where Sharon had lived since college). Then they got married! That's how Dawn and I are stepsisters.

At the drugstore, I decided to get two pairs of contacts—one for my purse and the other one for home. When I arrived home, my purse strap broke off. Terrific, right? At least it was only one side.

Luckily, I had a thread and needle, so I sewed it back on. I'm very good at sewing. Claudia's grandmother Mimi taught me and I've been a pro ever since. Sadly, she recently passed away of a stroke. When I was growing up, I used to pretend she was my grandmother, too.

When I was done, I cut it off and the needle poked me, but it didn't hurt- thank goodness. It was bleeding a bit, so I got a Band Aid out of the medicine cabinet. What a day!

"I see you were sewing awhile ago," Dawn said, appearing next to me.

"Yes, my purse strap was coming off going to the drugstore and then broke again when I returned. I just finished and the needle poked me," I told my sister, showing her my finger.

"Ouch," Dawn said sympathetically.

"It doesn't hurt, it's just a poke, that's all," I replied with a grin.

"That's good," my sister smiled.

"Then my contacts kept falling out- they fell out three times! One was on the way home from baby-sitting Jamie and Lucy Newton. It ripped and one fell out twice. Luckily, Dad and I were able to go to the drugstore," I explained.

"Boy, today was not your day," Dawn said, her eyes widening in amazement.

"I know," I agreed.


	2. Night One

That night, I realized it was Saturday and I almost forgot about doing my homework. I did math and history before dinner and science after dinner.

After I was finished, I went downstairs to get water when I almost bumped my head on the closed fridge. Boy, tonight's not my night either! I felt the blood on my finger from earlier. How did that happen? I didn't take off the scab- or the Band Aid. I went back upstairs to get a tissue and hold it on my finger.

At eight-thirty, I got undressed and changed into my nightgown, to get comfy. Dawn just giggled, as I opened the door.

"What's so funny?" I wanted to know, confused.

"Your nightgown is inside out and the tag is backwards," replied my sister as I looked down.

"You're right. I didn't notice that. Thanks," I said as I closed my door to fix it the right way.

"That's better," said Dawn, when I reopened it.

"More things happened, Dawn. I almost didn't do my homework for Monday. I forgot to take my pill that I usually take every morning. I was getting water and I nearly bumped my head on the closed fridge door!" I explained.

"Ouch," said Dawn sympathetically.

"Ouch is right and for some reason, my finger from earlier was bleeding. I didn't even pick the scab at all," I continued, showing her my finger.

"Goodness, Mary Anne, tonight's not your lucky night either," giggled Dawn.

I agreed.

At ten, I was in bed reading _Little Women_ when Dad scared me for the second time in a row that day. I almost jumped off the bed- and he scared poor Tigger. Dad was laughing.

"Very funny. This is the second time you scared me today," I complained while he just kept laughing.

It never fails. He does THAT every time.

Two and a half hours later, my tooth was beginning to hurt me.

"Now what?" I asked sleepily.

I got up off the bed and it broke off as I rushed to the bathroom. My mouth was bleeding. I noticed the half of it broke off, when I spat the blood into the sink. Some people say salt and warm water help. I went downstairs to get water and added a bit of salt. I drank and spit some blood out.

I was suddenly feeling ill- I don't really like blood. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Dad came out of his bedroom, noticing that I was downstairs. He came down the stairs to check on me.

"Are you okay, honey?" asked my father.

"Half of my tooth just broke off," I said nervously, showing it to him.

"Oh, it did," said Dad.

"My tooth hurts now," I groaned, once it finally stopped bleeding.

"I'll take you to see the dentist on Monday morning," Dad told me, heading back towards the stairs.

"Sounds good," I agreed, following him up the stairs.


	3. Tooth Surgery

The next day, my tooth was still hurting me.

"Is Mary Anne alright?" Sharon asked my father.

"Half of her tooth broke off last night," Dad told her.

"That doesn't sound too good," Sharon almost gasped.

"I'm going to bring her to the dentist first thing in the morning," Dad assured her.

"My tooth's really hurting me and it's making me nauseous," I said.

That was when I fled upstairs to the bathroom and began to throw up.

"I better go see if she's okay," said Dad, heading towards the stairs.

He came in and comforted me while I was still throwing up. After that, my tooth was hurting me even more.

The following day, at the dentist's office, the dentist checked my tooth and said, "Yep. Half of it is broken. I'll have to pull the rest of the other half out right now."

"Is it going to hurt?" I asked.

"Just a little, it won't take that long," The dentist told me. "I promise to be gentle. I just need to put in the novocaine first. It's an injection that helps you not feel a thing. "

"Okay," I mumbled, looking down.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes while he gave me nova cane. It didn't even hurt when he took it out. The next thing I knew, it was all done.

"All done, dear," I heard the dentist telling me.

"I'm glad the injection works," I said brightly.

"And, it works every time. I'm going to excuse you from school for today and tomorrow so you can recover because your mouth will ache," the dentist told me.

"Okay, thank you," I said to him, trotting out to where Dad was waiting for me.

"How did it go?" Dad wanted to know.

"It took two seconds to come out. He gave me the novocaine injection so I didn't feel anything. It didn't hurt at all. The dentist is going to excuse me from school for two days, starting today so I can recover in case of toothaches," I told Dad.

"Okay. I'm off today, so I'll be home with you," Dad reminded me. "I'll call the school and let them know when we get home."

At home, I was on the couch watching TV. Dad called the school right after we came back home. Good thing I was excused from school because my mouth was in a lot of pain.

"Do we have anything for the pain? It's bothering me," I complained to Dad.

"I'll go check, honey," Dad said sympathetically, going into the bathroom to try and find some paracetamol.

"I never had a toothache or mouth pain in my whole life," I called to him.

Dad came back down with an Advil and I took it, swallowing it down with water. It was helping me so far. I'm glad the tooth was pulled out because I was in agony.


	4. The Announcement about a New Student

Two days later, I was back at school. I was heading to math with Stacey and Logan, and we were chatting casually before our teacher arrived.

"We're getting another student tomorrow," said Stacey.

"Really?" I asked curiously.

"Yep," Stacey said with a grin.

In math, we were having a test on a chapter. I love math, but I'm better at handwriting and organizing things. Honestly, I prefer English.

At lunch, Logan sat with me and the other girls. That's unusual for my boyfriend- he prefers sitting with his guy friends.

"This mac and cheese tastes like-" Kristy tried.

"Stop. Don't even think about it," I cut her off.

"Glue." My sister finished the sentence with a grin on her face.

I groaned out loud. "Why do you always do that?"

"To see if you're turning green," Dawn sniggered, as our friends just laughed.

"Oh, ha ha," I said sarcastically.

That afternoon, I did all my homework with Tigger for company. It was freezing cold at dinner- and I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Is it cold in here or is it me?" I wanted to know.

"She's right, it is cold," Dawn nodded.

"I'll check the heat," Dad said, standing up.

He went to the heater and changed the temperature from sixty degrees to seventy degrees. Slowly but surely, it warmed up a little.

"All set. It was on sixty degrees, so I turned it up to seventy degrees," Dad informed us, taking his seat again.

"Thanks. That's better," I said, relieved.

But I was still cold for some reason. So, I decided to go get my sweatshirt and came back down.

"You're still cold?" asked Dawn in disbelief.

I nodded. "I don't know what it is!"

Lucky for me, I have an electric blanket. It works wonders at this time of year, when the temperature drops.

I went to bed at nine-thirty, the usual time.

The next day, at school, in math, we got our tests back. I had an A- on it. It wasn't as good as an A+, but it was still a good mark.

"Cokie Mason and Mary Anne Spier, please see me after class," said the math teacher.

Now what?

After class, the teacher told us, "Mary Anne and Cokie, please being your tests up to my desk."

We did, setting side by side.

"Tell me what you noticed," the math teacher said sternly.

That was when I noticed the similarities between the papers. Cokie and I had identical scores, and the same incorrect and correct answers! There was definitely something odd about that!

I was going to say something, but Cokie rudely cut me off. "I never cheat, sir."

"You may go then," replied the math teacher. With a smug smirk, Cokie almost skipped out of the room. "Well, this means you'll have to stay after school all week starting tomorrow."

"But I never…," I started.

"I don't want to hear it," the math teacher interrupted me.

I just stormed out the classroom to Gym very angrily. I hate it when no one believes me. Kristy must have seen me fuming because she came over to see me.

"Are you alright, Mary Anne?" asked Kristy, concerned.

"I hate the math teacher," I almost snapped, as I told her what happen. "He believed Cokie and I have to stay after school all week starting tomorrow."

"What?" exclaimed Kristy in shock.

"I tried to tell him I don't cheat, but he didn't let me finish," I whined.

"Oh, wow, that's awful," Kristy said sympathetically. Then she told me her important news, the one that Stacey had brought up the day before. "The new student is in my science class. Her name is Lucy Ella Stone."

"Oh, just think of our client's names," I said, a grin growing on my face. I was feeling much better, talking about the BSC.

"That's what I said," said Kristy, a grin matching my own.


	5. Hello, Lucy Ella Stone

At lunch, Kristy brought Lucy to sit with us.

"Hi, Claudia," Lucy said shyly.

Lucy and Claudia shared their homeroom classes and gym.

"Hi," smiled Claudia.

"These are the rest of my friends, Dawn Schafer, her stepsister and my best friend, Mary Anne Spier, and Stacey McGill," said Kristy, pointing us out.

"Nice to meet you all," said Lucy, a smile growing on her face.

"Hi," Dawn and Stacey said in unison.

"Hello," I said shyly.

After school, Lucy met up with me to walk home because she lives near the Prezzioso's home.

"Where did you live before coming here?" I asked curiously, to start a conversation.

"Savannah, Georgia," replied Lucy. "I moved here with my mother and grandparents. My dad died in a car crash when she was pregnant with me. I don't have any siblings."

"I never met my mom either. She died when I was an infant of leukaemia. I was raised by my mom's parents in Iowa, my father was pretty depressed when Mom died and couldn't take care of me for awhile. When I was eighteen months old, though, he brought me back to Stoneybrook and we've lived here together every since," I explained, nodding.

"Wow," Lucy said, shocked. "I didn't expect to have that in common!"

"I know," I agreed. "Dad got remarried to my stepmom not too long ago- it took a while to adjust to the extra family members, but it's okay now".

I continued to explain about how I gained my stepfamily.

"Dawn is the one who you met earlier," I said cheerfully. "She's also my best friend."

"That's cool," Lucy smiled.

"I grew up on Bradford Court before moving onto Burnt Hill Road to live with Sharon and Dawn because my old house was too small," I added. "I also have a cat, Tigger. I've had him since my thirteen birthday last year- he was my favorite present."

"You're lucky. My grandmother is allergic to cats and my grandfather is allergic to dogs. But I do have two parrots and three fish," Lucy commented.

"Neat," I said with a grin, walking beside her out the school gate.

"My mom and I are extremely close," Lucy explained. "We do everything together. She used to be a bit strict until I was eleven. That was when she realized that I was no longer a little girl, and I could safely make my own decisions. I used to have to be home by nine, I couldn't have any friends over unless they're working on a project with me, and no parties; including my friends' birthday parties, slumber parties and yet, I get to host my own party, which was so messed up."

"I agree," I nodded.

"Then one day at age eleven, I was able to tell her how unhappy I was and told her it isn't fair that I get to have my own parties and not going to any of my friends' parties," continued Lucy.

"Good," I said with a sigh.

My life and Lucy's life was sounding more and more similar, the more we talked.

"She got better after that," Lucy added.

"I know how you feel. My dad was strict, too, for a long time," I informed her.

"Really?" asked Lucy as I nodded.

"Only I had to wear braids, childish clothes, no phone except for homework, and so on. My room used to be like a nursery. I was twelve when I was able to prove I was a seventh grader, not a toddler," I explained. "That was before I had a stepfamily."

I told her on how I proved it to him. I had been so happy, when Dad finally allowed me to be myself- I was no longer the Mary Anne he controlled.

"That's good," smiled Lucy.

"I know," I agreed. "My life is much better now. Partly because he wants to prove to be a perfect parent."

"Whoa!" said Lucy.

"Was your mom's excuse?" I asked curiously.

"Sort of the same reason," Lucy said, a little uneasily. "In fact, she was nervous about raising me on her own."

"Oh," I nodded. "Dad had been afraid of raising an infant on his own, that was why I went to my grandparents."

"Isn't your dad's name, Richard Spier?" Lucy wanted to know.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I asked. It was becoming a little weird!

"My mom grew up here and went to school with your dad. My mom's family moved to Georgia after they graduated from grade school," Lucy told me.

"Isn't that something?" I asked. "That's how Dawn and I found out my dad knew Sharon back in high school."

"Awesome," smiled Lucy.

After school, at home, I was doing my homework. Honestly, I didn't hear Dad come home from school because I was still doing homework.

"Hi, honey," said Dad.

I jumped. "Dad! I didn't hear you come home!"

"That's alright," smiled Dad.

"Do you have a minute?" I asked. "It's important."

"I just have to put the work stuff away and I'll come back in here to be with you," replied Dad.

"Okay," I said.

A minute later, I was almost done with my homework when Dad came back in and sat on my bed.

"Is everything okay? You seem worried about something," said Dad.

"First of all, I got my math test with an A-," I began.

"That's terrific," said Dad.

"But the problem was Cokie had the same test score and the same number wrong and correct. I almost say something when Cokie told the math teacher that she never cheats. Guess what? He believed her and lets go her and tells me that I have to stay after school all week starting tomorrow. I tried to tell him I never cheat, but he interrupted me. Why would I cheat?" I asked.

"You'd never do that," Dad agreed, concerned.

"Maybe I should go to the principal tomorrow and tell him. He'll believe me," I said hopefully.

"That's a good idea," nodded Dad.

The next day, I got to school early especially to see the principal. In his office, I told him everything- including how the math teacher interrupted me, when I tried to explain my side of the story. He was so indignant he called the math teacher to his office, to hear his side of the story.

"Mary Anne was just telling me she tried to tell you she never cheats, but you interrupted her," said the principal.

"Why would I cheat? I had my eyes on my own paper during the whole test," I added.

"Cokie probably lied," said the teacher.

"I'll call her down now," said the principal. Pretty soon, Cokie was shuffling through the doors of his office. "Have a seat, Cokie."

She did.

"We just found out Mary Anne was the one who didn't cheat," the principal told her.

"Alright, alright, I cheated off her paper. Okay?" snapped Cokie rudely.

"Why did you lie to me by telling me you never cheat and had me believe you?" the math teacher checked. "Mary Anne had her eyes on her paper for the whole time."

"For that, you're suspended for a week," said the principal firmly. "Mary Anne, you're excused from staying after school."

"Yes, I'm sorry I cut you off," said the math teacher.

"Thanks, I should get to my homeroom now," I said.

"I'll let your teacher know you came here first for something and I'm letting Cokie's folks know that she's going to be suspended for a week," said the principal.

"Okay," I nodded, getting up and heading towards my homeroom. I felt so much better, after telling the principal about Cokie.


	6. Ticks and Poison Ivy on Mary Anne

After school, when I came home, I found out that Dad was home from work.

"Hi, Dad," I said cheerfully.

"Hello, Mary Anne. How did it go this morning?" Dad asked curiously.

"Good. I went to the principal and guess what! Cokie lied to the math teacher so he had a talk with her. She confessed and got suspended for a week, so now I'm excused from staying after school," I said excitedly.

"That's good," smiled Dad.

"I know, I'm glad I did," I admitted.

That night, when I was getting ready for dinner, I found a splinter in my finger. I winced and found the tweezers- but it didn't want to come out! It was really stuck!

"Mary Anne, it's time for dinner," Dawn called, coming to find me.

"I'll be right there! I just noticed I got a splinter on my finger and it's too stubborn to come out," I told her. "I was just about to see if Dad can try to get it out."

Downstairs, I found Dad and asked him to get the splinter out.

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" asked Dad as we went to the light.

He did manage to get that out. It was pretty big!

"Thanks. That's better," I said, relieved.

My finger was red from the splinter. Boy, did that hurt! It was also bleeding as I went upstairs to put a bandage on it. Then, I came back down for dinner.

I could feel my stomach flip-flop. At the table, I was eating slowly because my stomach kept gurgling and I was afraid I'd get sick. Then, I started to get nauseous.

"May I leave the table? I'm starting to feel nauseous," I said.

"Of course, honey," said Dad.

I got up for my room. A moment later, I rushed to the bathroom and started throwing up. I was still throwing up when Dad, who heard me, came in to comfort me.

"It's okay, I'm here," Dad said soothingly, patting my back.

After that, I felt dizzy. I threw up again an hour later. In fact, I was like that all night even though I've been sleeping sitting up. The next day, my stomach flu was worse, so I stayed home from school. That afternoon, my stomach started to hurt me even more, so Dad took me to the hospital. I don't remember if I passed out because the next thing I knew, I was being rushed to the emergency room. Dad was in the waiting room anxiously to hear if I was going to be okay. fifteen minutes later, Dr. Wellington came in and went to Dad.

"How she is doing?" asked Dad.

"She'll be fine. It was her appendix that was making her stomach hurt," replied Dr. Wellington. "They're taking it out right now. I'll come for you when they're done so you can go see her."

"Okay," said Dad, breathing a sigh of relief.

When they were done, Dr. Wellington came out to tell Dad.

"You can go see Mary Anne now. She's still asleep, so it might take awhile for her to be awake," said Dr. Wellington.

"Alright," Dad replied.

"I'm excusing her from school until Friday so she can rest," continued Dr. Wellington as he came in the hospital room with Dad, as I sleepily sat up in the bed.

"Okay, I'll let the school know tomorrow since it's almost three," said Dad.

"Dad, what happen?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes.

"You passed out, honey," said Dad as he told me what the doctor told him.

"Oh," I murmured, leaning back against the pillows.

"She's still very tired from the operation. She may go home sometime tomorrow or the day after," said the doctor.

The next day, the hospital discharged me. I was still sore, because I had stiches. I spent the day on the couch, catching up on the work Dawn and my friends had collected for me. It didn't take me long to finish, that's why I manage to keep up my good grades. I'm very organized! The next day, I felt well enough to go back to school... I was happy about that, I like school.

In Gym, I had some water before I started running around. Gym's okay, but I'm not crazy about it since I'm not very good at sports. After school, Lucy and I walked to her house after she invited me to stay until five. I had already called Dad before going there and he said that was fine by him. I met Lily, Lucy's mom, and Lily's parents.

"You're Richard Spier's little girl. I was at your mother's funeral," said Lily, Lucy's mom.

"You were?" I asked curiously.

My father hadn't spoken much about Mom's funeral, it hurts him too much.

"Yes, I can't believe you and Lucy are friends! You were only a baby when I last saw you," Lily remembered. "We were devastated when we found out about your mother's passing."

"Oh, I never met her," I told her, sighing.

"I know, you were six months at the time. I had just lost Alex the year before," said Lily wistfully, sighing.

"Does Dad know your husband is dead? He told me Alex was his best friend from high school," I said.

"I think so, he came to his funeral and he sure was heartbroken. Your mother was there, too. I think she was pregnant with you at that time. In fact, I was at your parents' wedding. They invited me and Alex," replied Lily.

"Oh," I said.

It was about then that Lucy and I started our homework. My new friend was really, really smart, she showed me her honor rolls. She's especially talented in geography- but she told me she used to hate it. When she was in elementary school, her mother got her a tutor and as she began to understand it, she started to really like it.

At five, I left to get to Claudia's for the meeting. At the meeting, my back started to get sore for some reason.

"Are you alright?" asked Kristy who was getting concerned.

"My back is really starting to hurt," I complained.

"You can rest it against my pillow," said Claudia putting it up.

"Thanks, good idea," I smiled as she helped me to put it against her pillow. "You are so kind, Dr. Kishi."

There was a lot of laughter at that topic.

My back got better by the time the meeting ended. Then, when Dawn and I got home, I could feel another back pain coming on.

"Not again," I moaned.

"Why don't you sit on the recliner?" suggested Dawn.

"Good idea," I replied.

That's what I did with a pillow resting it after Dawn putting it there.

"Thanks, Dawn," I grinned.

"No problem, you've been a fine patient," Dawn joked.

We laughed at that joke. It was still bugging me when Dad came home from work while Dawn was cooking dinner.

"Hi, girls," Dad greeted us.

"Hi," we both said.

"Dinner will be ready soon," called Dawn from the kitchen.

"Are you the cook tonight?" Dad asked curiously. "I thought it was Mary Anne's turn to cook."

"She is, because my back started hurting me at the meeting. At first, it was better when it ended, but it started hurting me again when we got home," I replied.

"Are you okay now?" asked Dad, concerned.

"Sort of. My back is still bugging me," I answered.

When I almost tried to get up, my back was giving me trouble.

"Would you feel better if I get you an Aleve tablet?" asked Dad.

"Yes please," I replied, wincing in pain.

So he did. I was also eating dinner at the recliner. Two hours later, my back pain was still at it. It was making me nauseous. How am I able to make it upstairs if my back is still hurting me? I don't dare try to get up because it gives me too much trouble. Dad came to see how I was doing.

"How's your back?" Dad wanted to know.

"It's still bugging me at this moment. It's making me nauseous," I replied.

"Do you want water to make it go away, honey?" asked Dad.

"That'd be great. Thanks," I answered.

That's what he did. He also got a bucket in case my back gets too sore to make it upstairs.

"Maybe I'd feel better if I sleep downstairs tonight," I said.

"Or I'll help you out afterwards," said Dad.

"Sounds good," I agreed.

He helped me upstairs about an hour later, so I could lay down in my bed.

"If it still hurts you tomorrow, I'll take you to see Dr. Wellington," Dad told me.

"Good idea. Maybe I should stay from school until my back gets better otherwise my back would give me trouble trying to walk around- especially to every class." I gave Dad a weak smile.

"That'd be the best thing for you," agreed Dad. "I'll keep the bucket with you in case you need it."

"Sounds good, my back is too sore to get up," I murmured.

In the middle of the night, my back was hurting me _so _much that it was causing me to toss and turn. In fact, that woke me up a moment later. Plus, it was starting to itch.

"Oh, now what?" I groaned out loud.

It was making me even more nauseous.

"Uh-oh," I said grabbing the bucket just in time and started throwing up in it.

Dad came in to comfort me.

"It's okay, sweetheart," said Dad gently, rubbing my back comfortingly.

After that, my back was hurting me even more. Dad had already cleaned out the bucket.

"Are you going to be alright now?" asked Dad giving me back the bucket.

I set it down beside my bed, in case I needed it again.

"My back started to itch, too," I mumbled, suddenly sleepy.

"I should have your back checked by Dr. Wellington tomorrow. I'll call him in the morning," said Dad, concerned.

"Okay, good," I smiled at him.

The next day, Dad did call Dr. Wellington who said he can see me in an hour. Dad and I left thirty minutes later. At the hospital, Dr. Wellington checked my back.

"I see what's causing her back to hurt. She has poison ivy," said Dr. Wellington. "I'm checking what else that's causing the poison ivy."

That was when he found something else.

"She has ticks on where she has poison ivy," said the doctor.

"Ticks?" I asked in surprise.

"I'll go get the tweezers to take the ticks off your back and put them in a bag," said the doctor as he left the room.

"How did I got ticks? No wonder my back was itching and bugging me at the same time. Should we make sure that I don't have any in my bed?" I asked.

"That's a good idea," agreed Dad. "I'll go call Sharon to check that out after the doctor is done."

That was when Dr. Wellington came back in. As he started to take ticks off, I had to hold onto Dad's hand tightly because it was painful. It took him almost ten to fifteen minutes to take the ticks off because they were stuck on the poison ivy. I felt a bit better after he got all the ticks off my back. He had to make sure he didn't miss any.

"All set. Do you have any poison ivy cream?" asked Dr. Wellington.

"Yes, we got that when Sharon had poison ivy on her arm last year," replied Dad.

"Okay. Just put some posion ivy cream on the poison ivy until it goes away completely," instructed the doctor.

"Alright. Mary Anne also decided to stay home from school until her back gets better. I don't blame her otherwise her back would bother her all day," said Dad.

"I agree with you," said Dr. Wellington.

"I'll just have to call Sharon to ask her to check for ticks on Mary Anne's bed," said Dad as he left the room to do so and came back in two minutes later. "She's going to check now. We should also make sure that Tigger doesn't have any."

"That's true we should," I said.

We went to get Tigger and took him to see Dr. Sam and she checked for ticks on him. He had a few ticks; he was pretty good. He didn't move at all. After that was done, we went back home.

"Mary Anne's bed did have tons of ticks, so I had to use tweezers to take them out and it took me forever to do so because there was so many of them," said my stepmother.

"Did you got all of them?" asked Dad.

"Yes. I had to recheck to to make sure of that," replied Sharon.

"Tigger had a few ticks," I added.


	7. Poison Ivy Goes Away

The next day, I was resting my back at the recliner. Unfortunately, my back isn't better yet. Dad had just put poison ivy cream on the poison ivy. I'm glad I decided not to go school- I didn't want to go back until my back was completely better. Imagine how hard for me that would be to move around with a sore back? Dad started his vacation week yesterday. I also think I should stay home from the Baby-Sitters Club meetings as well until my back gets better.

"Hey, Dad! I'm thinking of staying home from the BSC meetings, until my back gets better," I told my father.

"That's a good idea." Dad nodded in agreement.

"I'll tell Dawn that when she gets home from school this afternoon so she can let Kristy know," I added.

I must have fallen asleep in the recliner, because Dad pulled a blanket over me. That was where I remained until Dawn came home from school.

"Don't make too much noise right now. Mary Anne's asleep in the recliner," Dad whispered, letting my stepsister in the door.

"How is she doing?" Dawn asked, concerned.

"Her back is still bothering her a bit. She decided to stay home from the meeting until her back gets better, so when you leave for the meeting let Kristy know about that," replied Dad.

"Okay. I will." Dawn smiled at my dad.

About an hour later, as the clocked ticked over to four, I felt really sick. Just in time, I grabbed the bucket next to the recliner, in time to throw up. Dad came over to comfort me, putting his arms around my shoulder.

"It's alright, honey," Dad said comfortingly.

After I had finished throwing up, he cleaned the bucket, coming back to talk to me.

"Are you okay now?" Dad said, concerned.

"Yes, at least my back doesn't hurt as much," I murmured.

That night, I felt even sicker. But, I managed to get up the stairs, to the bathroom just in time.

"Excuse me a minute, I need to go and see Mary Anne," Dad said apologetically to my stepmom and stepsister.

I was still throwing up when Dad came in to comfort me.

"It's alright, honey, I'm here..." Dad murmured.

I was really dizzy once I finished vomiting.

"Do you mind if I stay up here?" I checked.

"Of course you can, honey," Dad smiled. "If you feel well enough..."

"At least I was able to make it up here! I hope my back gets better soon, Dad," I said.

"I know, sweetie," Dad said gently.

The poison ivy didn't go away until three or four days later- and my back was still hurting me. Luckily, it went away the day after the poison ivy did- thank God! I was so glad about that...


	8. The Bee Sting

I was so glad to be back at school the next day. Honest, I really was! I made up all the work that I missed and was all set after that. I was able to run around in Gym as long as I'm careful of course. After that, I could feel pins and needles in my leg. At least it doesn't hurt as much. That's a good thing. After school, Lucy and I rode our bikes to my house for the afternoon. She gets to stay with me until after dinner since it's only Thursday.

At my house, we did our homework together, agreeing that we could tutor each other if we were stuck. That was cool- I like school and I don't even mind homework! After our homework was out of the way, and we had eaten a snack, Lucy and I decided to ride our bikes to the park. I called Dad to let him know, and, after we had got permission, called Kaylee and Kayla.

We rode our bikes to the park, and were riding through it when I felt a tiny bump. I put the brakes on and looked down- I had just run over a bee. Oops! It was dead, though, so it couldn't sting me. I still felt bad, though, because it truly was an accident.

"Did you see that?" asked Kaylee.

"I know. I'm glad that bee was dead," I called over my shoulder.

"Are you sure about that? It's moving," Kayla warned.

"Come on, let's go!" Lucy called.

The four of us rode away from the supposedly dead bee in a heartbeat.

"I didn't even notice it!" I cried, pedalling hard.

As long as none of us walked over it, we should be fine. I had never been stung before, and didn't plan to, either. Suddenly, all four of us could hear a buzzing sound.

"I think another bee knows what we did!" Kaylee teased gently- but she was right.

Near where the bee was run over, there was a hive. Oops.

"How does that bee know?" I played along, only half seriously. Then, it started to fly towards us.

Uh-oh. The four of us parked our bikes near the bathroom, and ran inside, pretending to fix our hair.

"I think we lost it," Kayla panted, patting her ponytail back into place.

"I hope so!" Kaylee agreed, retying one of her braids.

"It can't get in, anyway," Lucy pointed out. "The door's locked, remember?"

There was a sharp pain in my leg and I cried out in surprise. And, to our surprise, there was a dead bee on the bathroom floor.

"I don't believe it! How did that get in?" Lucy demanded.

Kayla peered closer at the bee- it was definitely dead. Bees usually die when they sting people- and I was the unlucky one who got stung.

"Come on, let's go home and take care of that," Lucy said caringly.

"Good plan." I winced in pain, as we retrieved our bikes.

And that's exactly what we did. We rode home, and, when we reached our farmhouse, took the actual stinger out of my leg with tweezers. Boy did it burn! Lucy set an ice pack on the area where I was stung- it helped numb it a little.

"Feels good, but it still burns a bit," I complained.

"At least it'll help a little bit," Kayla pointed out.

"That's true," I agreed, smiling a little. "I still can't believe I ran over a bee!"

"I know!" Kaylee cried.

Thank God I'm not allergic to bee stings- I'm not allergic to anything at all. I'm lucky, in that respect.

"Is everything okay, sweetie?" Dad asked, opening the front door.

I just didn't feel that good- and my leg hurt quite badly from where I was stung. The ice pack had helped for a while, but once the coolness had worn off, it started to burn again.

"Lucy, Kayla, Kaylee and I were riding our bikes in the park this afternoon. I felt a tiny little bump and when I looked down, I saw a dead bee! Honestly, Dad, I didn't even see it! And then another bee stung me... I can't believe I did that without noticing!" I informed him.

"Things happen," Dad said sympathetically. "It was an accident, Mary Anne."

"I know! I just felt so bad afterwards...," I said.


	9. Mary Anne's Horrible Date

Later, the bee sting started to go down a bit. Thankfully. It reminds me of a sunburn in the summertime. I was reading outside on the hammock to relax for awhile when I saw a shadow and when I looked up, it was Logan who surprised me. I almost jumped a mile a minute. He busted out laughing.

"You're as bad as Dad who does that to me," I said.

"That's good," said Logan who was still laughing.

"Good? Very funny," I said. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack when you scared me to death."

"I would like to watch you on that," said Logan.

Boys can drive you nuts! Honestly, Logan is no exception. Like Alan Gray, Logan can be a class clown. Seriously! Guess who thought this was funny, too? If you guess Dad, you're correct. He saw what Logan did to me and he's absolutely no help at all. He always thinks _every_thing is funny. That night, my dinner date with Logan didn't exactly go too well. Yes, he knows I'm shy. However, I always tell him not to order for me. I can do that on my own. Well, guess what? That's what he did at Friendly's. I hate it. I broke up with him last time because of that. He nevers asks me if I wanted that order. I was planning to have a hamburger with Sprite, but when I was about to order, he ordered me a grilled cheese with Coke. I wanted to cut him off, but it was too late.

When the waiter left, I said, "That's not what I wanted, Logan. What do I tell you before? Not to order for me. I can do that on my own. That was why we broke up last time. Do you want to take that risk again?"

One of these days, I'm going to complain to the manager to straight him out. If Dad was here, he wouldn't go for that. I never cared for Coke. It made my stomach upset last time I had it. So, I was able to change it back to Sprite. I decided to switch grilled cheese to hamburger after talking to the manager about it.

"Why did you change your order?" asked Logan.

"Coke makes me sick to my stomach. If I want to change my order, that's my business, not yours. You should've asked me in the first place. That's what you should do to use your manners when you're out on a date with someone," I said.

When Logan excused himself to the men's room, I told the waiter to put my meal in to go container. Logan can pay. That's what the waiter did and I left without Logan knowing it. I had Sprite in to go cup. That will teach Logan a lesson. I was at the park enjoying my meal and drink when I spotted Kayla and Kaylee as they saw me and came to join me.

"Hi, where did you girls come from?" I asked.

We just laughed.

"Weren't you supposed to be with Logan?" asked Kaylee.

"I was, but the dinner date was terrible," I replied. "I decided to have a hamburger with Sprite when he changed it on me when I was about to order. You know what I did, I switched the orders back to what I wanted. What I don't like about him is that he does not check on me. I didn't want grilled cheese or Coke. Coke didn't agree with my stomach last time. And, because of what he did to me, I had the orders in to go container and cup and I left without Logan knowing it."

"Good idea. What an immature guy thing to do," said Kayla.

"Tell me about it," I said. "That's why I broke up with him for awhile last time this happened. He made my life miserable."

"That was a smart thing to do if anyone makes you unhappy," commented Kaylee as Kayla and I agreed.

After I ate and drank, I threw out the containers and I decided to join the girls to remain at the park for a bit longer. Then, we headed home when Logan showed up.

"How come you left me?" asked Logan.

"You knew why," I said.

"You should not order for someone without checking to see if it was okay. That's not the idea of a perfect date at all," said Kayla. "She just told us everything."

"That was very immature and bossy thing to do to your own girlfriend," added Kaylee.

"Now, if you excuse us, we have to head home," I said.

We continued on. At home, I was glad to be back to be honest with you after that horrible date.


	10. Mary Anne Gets Firm with Logan

The next day, Logan did apologize to me while I was at his house. You know what I did? I made him promise not to do it again. Good idea, huh? Dad agreed with that when I told him I was going to do that. And, I'll make sure Logan will keep that promise.

"You knew I can order on my own. If that was you, I wouldn't order for you unless you want me to if you had to use the men's room. You should've asked me to see if that was okay with me first. That's a good boyfriend should always do," I said. "If that was me, _you_ wouldn't like it at all."

"I guess I'm not a good...," Logan started.

"My point is that you should've thought about that before you did that on me. I'm glad I was allowed to change my order," I said. "That's why I left. If Dad was there with us, he'd make you switch my order to what I want. I don't care if I'm shy or not. I can still order all by myself. I'm a teenager, not a toddler."

"You should say at least thank you," said Logan.

"Not if it wasn't something I wanted. Maybe if you had my order right in the first place, that would've been different," I said.

I left there. He doesn't get what I am saying at all. Why should I thank him if he ordered the wrong stuff without checking with me? When I got home, I couldn't wait for this bad week to be over. I'm serious. In my room, I was on my bed when Dad knocked on the door and came in to be with me.

"Hi," said Dad.

"Hi," I said.

"How did it go with Logan? Did he promise not to do it again?" asked Dad.

"He did, but the conversation was worse," I said.

"What happen?" asked Dad as I told him everything.

"He thinks I should thank him, but I told him not if it wasn't something I wanted. Maybe if he had my order right in the first place, that would've been different," I said.

"I agree with you, I wouldn't thank him either. You did the smart move," said Dad.

"Tell me about it," I agreed. "What should I do to make him listen to my point?"

"I would be firm," suggested Dad.

"True. I was firm, but that didn't help. Maybe I should try to be more firm if I have to," I said.

"That's a good idea to do," agreed Dad.

"I'm going to tell him if he doesn't listen what I had to say, I'm done with him," I said.

"I don't blame you, honey. That would teach him a lesson," said Dad.

"Exactly," I agreed with him. "Boys are not worth listening."

"I listen, don't I?" Dad teased me trying to cheer me up a bit.

"Last time I checked, you're an adult and Logan is a teenager," I said as he started laughing.

"I'm still a boy," said Dad.

"Grown-ups turn into men or ladies," I said with a smile. "But you always listen to what I say to make me feel better."

"You bet," said Dad.

At least he makes me feel much better like he always does. That night, I wasn't sure if I should try again. Would he listen to me this time? He better listen to me. If not, perhaps his mother would make him listen. Wait until I become more firm. I went back to his house.

"Well, look who's back," said Logan.

"Only if you'll listen to me this time. If you don't, I'm done with you," I said.

"What?" asked Logan.

"You heard me," I replied. "I'm not kidding. Plus, I could have your mother make you listen."

"Fine," said Logan.

"What I don't like is that you order for me. I've told you not to do it, but you always do it anyway. That's what makes me unhappy. Don't you realize that?" I asked. "That's why we broke up for awhile last time that happened. And, Dad agreed that I didn't have to thank you if you didn't order what I wanted."

"I was helping you out," said Logan.

"Logan, ordering for me without checking with me first isn't a relationship," I said. "If you want us to stay together, don't do things without asking me. If I had Bob, he would never do that to me. We're friends and he lets me orders what I want and checks with me if I wanted to do something with him. You should take lessons from him."

"But...," started Logan.

"No buts. That's how a relationship or friendship should always be... period," I said. "Got it?"

That finally made him realize that I'm right. Mrs. Bruno was glad about that. I felt better after that. At home, I told Dad all about it and he was glad, too. The next day, after school, Logan came to me while I was at my locker.

"Want to see a movie with me?" asked Logan.

That was more like it. That's how he should check with me

"I can't today, I have to baby-sit," I replied.

I was waiting for Mallory because I was going to help her baby-sit for all of her seven siblings until later tonight. When all of the Pike kids are home, Mallory's parents require two sitters and she's usually available for one of the two sitters. It's hard to watch all seven on your own.

"All set to go?" asked Mallory as she showed up.

"Yes, let's go," I answered.

"Are you free tonight?" asked Logan.

"No, the Pikes won't be home until eight or nine. We can always do it tomorrow, too," I said.

"Okay. Fine with me," said Logan.

Good. He used to expect me to be with him. Now, ever since we got back together after a short break-up, he got much better to give me some space.

At least my bad week is over now. Thankfully!

The End


End file.
